Operating mechanism for washing-machines.



C. A. SCHWANKE.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8 l9l5.

Patnted Jan 15, 1918.

a SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I INVENTOR Clarehce A. schwanlze BY U Q a ATTORNEY C. A. SCHWANKE.OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES; APPLICATION min occ. s ms1,253,634. Patented Jan. 15,191&

3 SHEETSSHEET Z- INYENTOR Clarence A.. Schwanke WITNESSES C. A.-SCHWANKE.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED 05c. B. 1915.

Patented J an. 15, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Fig. 3.

2 29 v g 12 g & INVENTOFI A Clarence A. Schwanke wmuzsszs I 5 A0. W

ATTORNEY CLARENCE A. SCHWANKE, 0F WILLOW CITY, NORTH DAKOTA.

OPERATING MECHANISM FOR WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

I Application filed December 8, 1915. Serial No. 65,724.

To all whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, .i LARENG E A. SOI-IWAIN' a citizen of the UnitedStates,

residing at 'Willow City, in the county oi Bottinean and State of NorthDakota, have .ll'H'l-Blltutl certain new and useful Improvements inOperating Mechanism for Waslr ingMachines, of which the following is aspecification.

My present. invention has relation to certain new and usefulimprovements in washing machines am more essentially, to an improved o)erating mechanism therefor; and as its primary object, it contemplatesthe provision of a novel apparatus of the above nature which isconstructed so as to be .eilicicnt in operation and wherein the partsare so arranged whereby they are not likely toget out of order.

A "further ob'ect of my invention is to provide a device 01': the typein question that is extremely simplein construct-ion, strong anddurable, and highly practical from both the standpoint of the manufac-vturer and the standpoint of the user; and which, it is believed, may bemanufactured at a comparatively low cost.

Various other objects and advantages will become apparent during thecontinuance of the following descriptiom In the accompanying drawingswherein like characters designate like parts throughout. the severalviews;

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation illustinting my invention as in itspreferred embodiment, the several. parts being shown in operativerelation; 1

Fig. 2 is a View in top plan showing more clearly the relativedisposition of the wringer actuating mechanism;

Fl g. 3 a view similar to Fig. 1 showing partsv of the supporting standand the clothes container the construction thereof more clearly;

Fig. 4 is a view-in detail of a novel form of rubber that is employed;

Fig. 5 is a view showing the supporting stand broken away and in sectionto disclose more clearly the mechanism for oscillating the containershaft;

Fig. (3 is a view of the container showing ll'lB'Siill'lG- broken awayand in section and illustrating the means for drawing the Water or otherliquid therefrom;

broken away to illustrate- Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of the supportinstand showing the mechanism for actuating the container shaft;

Fig. 8 is a detail view of the improved belt shifting mechanism that isalso employed;

Fig. 9 a sectionalview taken on the line 9 9 of Fig. 3.

In reducing my intention to first provide. a suitable supporting stand,which in the present embodiment consists of a series of legs '10connected through the medium of end and side pieces 11 and 12respectively, and having a platform 13 assoelated therewith, suchas'shown in Fig. 3. In order to further insure the rigidity of the legs10, at all times, they may he also connected intermecfliate their ends,through the medium of side and end brace rods it and 15 respectively.Although this type of. supporting structure may be advantugeousiyemployed, it is to be fully understood that 1 do not limit myself to thespecific construction in any way in view of the fact that my inventionmay be also employed in connec tion with various other fhrms of supporth1g7! structures.

ith a view of supporting the clothes container 16, I equip the same witha carrying shaft 17 that is arranged to extend through an opening 18 inthe plat-form 1 (see Fig. 3) and engage with a guide mornber 19 that iscarried by the bracing rods 1%. Upon its under face the container 16 caies a bearing block 20 which may be secured thereto as at 2.1 and whichis do signed to eoiiperate with a similarly formed bearing hloclr. 22that carried upon the platform 13 as at 23. tiuitable anti-frictionbearings '24: may be interposed between'fthe hearing blocks 20 and 22respectii-"ely so as to etliciently support the container in your ablerelation with the supporting structure. In order to precludeaccidentaldislodguient. of the carrying shaft/l7, during the operaiion of thedeviee,the same may be provided with a collar 25 which is adj ustablymounted .of the carrying shalt may be squared, as at 27 for receptioninto a similar opening in practice, t

- 29 for facilitatin the carrying block 20, whereby the connection withthe bearing block and the retalnment of the latter in a rigid positionat all times is assured. Furthermore, this method of associating thecarrying shaft with the bearing block eliminates the necessary ofjournaling the upper end thereof into ther able opening 28 that iseoaxially alincd with the opening 18 of the tplatform so as to receivethe carrying sha t l? and permit free operation thereof at all times.

While I do not limit myself to that type of container shown, it ispointed out that this form may be used to advantage in connection withthe associated mechanism. In its present embodiment, the containerconsists of bottom member 29 which may be constructed of any desirablematerial, that is connected in a suitable manner with the side wall orcasing structure 30. As is clearly apparent upon reference to- Fig. 3,bolts such as designated by the numeral 21 may be passed through the.bottom member the attachment of the bearing block 20 t ereto; however,as above pointed out, the necessity of journaling the carrying shaft 17in the bottom member has been eliminated. The inner face of the bot tommember 29 and the casing structure 30 is provided with any suitablemeans to exert rubbing action on the clothes or other articles beingacted upon, during operation and to this end I have shown the sameprovided with spaced slats 31 which may be aifiXed thereto in anydesired manner. Adjacent its upper end the casing structure 30 of thecontainer is provided with a projecting ledge which is designed tosupport, at certain times, a cover member 33;v conseduently, anysuitable means may be em-- ployed to lock the cover 33 in place.

A rubber, such as shown in detail in Fig. 4-, is designed to operatewithin the con- .tainer 16 in a manner whereby the thorough cleaning 'ofthe clothes is insured. This rubber, in its present embodiment, is showninthe form of a circular body structure 34 having spaced openings35 topermit the passage of the fluid .therethrough and a series of spacedrubbing ribs 36 to engage with the clothes in the usual manner. A re:

inforcing disk 37 is fixed to the rubber,

'such as shown at 38 which is designed. to

connect with one end of a suitably formed carrying stud 39; the latterbeing journaled through an opening 40 formed in the cover 33 in themanner shown. I also provide 1 suitable means to guide the stud 39during n'iovement of the rubber and to retain t e same in a stationaryposition with respect to the container 16, which means will besubsequently described.

In order to facilitate the discharge of the liquid contents of thecontainer 16 and at the same lime facilitate the interchanging of thewater during the washing of the clothes, 1 provide the con tainer with asuitable faucet 4:1 that is arranged in the manner whereby its receivingpipe 42 communicates with the container at a point sufliciently low orin alinement with the inner face of the bottom member 29. Inaccomplishing this, it may be necessary to cut away the member 29 suchas'indicated by the numeral 43 whereby the entire liquid contents of thecontainer may be dispensed Without tilting the same or moving it in anymanner.

'With a view of providing mechanism to properly actuate the container 16and other devices that may be associated therewith, I employ a stubshaft 44 that is journaled through a bracket. 45 on one of the bracerods 14.- and another bracket 26 mounted on a transversely arranged sopporting member 47. A driving pulley a8 is suitably keyed to the stubshaft 44f as at 49 (see Fig. 7), while a second pulley 50 is mounted tobe movable thereon and provided with. a worm gear 51. Althoughnot'limiting myselfto any specific form of connection between the loosepulley 50 and the worm gear 51 thereof, it is pointed out that the saidgear may be castintegral with the pu1ley,'if such. is"

'45 whereby movement in an opposite d-irec-.

tion will a o be prevented. This will insure eflici'ent connectionbetween the worm gear mechanism and the apparatus associated therewithto the end that the device, as a whole will operate eliiciently at all.times.

Intermediate its ends, the supporting member 47 is provided with anupstanding stud 52 upon which is' rotatably mounted a beveled gear 53 ofrelatively large diameter ice which meshes with'a like gear of smallerdiameter designated by the numeral 54. that is carried on the stub shaft44. In order to eliminate friction between. the gear wheel 53 and thesupporting member 47, it may be necessary to mterpose a spacing membersuch for instance as designated by the numeral 55 therebetween; althoughit will he understood that this is noteessential. Likewise, it may benecessary to arrange =1 spacing member such as shown at 56 lmlwenn thebeveled gear 54; l'llll'l. the bearing 417 M the stub slmlt such asillustrated in Fig .1 ml the LllilWll'lgH. 5 The carrying shall, 17 isin (,nrn provided, adjacent its lower ends, with n crank arm 5'? whichis :uljustuhly connected therewil'l: throu h the medium of a fasteningnm'nher 58 an l ]')10Vl(l0(l at one end with an n aetaunhing Sll'itl 59such as shuwn in Fig 5%. '1 1] inn purl mm'cn'mnt from the still.)shall, 44- tn {the cnrlyiz'ig shall 17, further provicle a lllll: G0wh'lnh has it respective ends lmmaly em heeled with the stud 59 of the;crank arm $37 in one inhuman and in z stud 61 that 31; can rind 0n. thegem wheel I in the other in "sllz meeu "lfllltll f it wlll he.recognized that the tendency 01 in geniwheel 53 will he to impartmovement to (he mnrying shaft 1! filnfough the rrmiliurn 0'? ziil link.

The, carrying shal 1? i 'lli lllllfii, prm. ideal with oppnflnly prvimizmg urn when: 'lree ends :1 amnnn zmwjl with l; irraei le spy:

" minim;

cievzwn wally remain la Z' in n parsi- 36 tion WlHBTQlLly is will 9rellzve intly llrlll'l against srntnl lve n'mwnmenl; ljpen move: ment ofthe gear wheel the carrying nlni'lt ll' he :4; cause nmven'lent if n ean" an oh'vinns manne i 'ihe wig-alum 0x". Elan r wheel does nnttherelern, ac" the entire rotation nil lhe carrying shaft 1'? since areswan as the helmet-ting l nl n {lend file zrelira-licljle spring an filmn all the (Elli-i E nppnsltel wa he cmltinmu agitation nf its lint-nila:

nnun.

I 22150 pnwiile the snppmfting ssh-nature with a "suitable stand suchdesignated in its entilret 'i'iy the numeral 07 (see Fig l} whieli inthe present qnlxnli:neni; ennn of stainlarcls 68 and =59 renpeeliwlggthat an: suitably nunnected with the supporting slime-Lure and whichlnlanrn carry a, trnnsversesupporting beam 70 that: may he at tnclie glthereto thmugl' th s medium al sin bolts '71. 'lln. ennui ma beconstructed {if g1 1 mhle mwn en h 01 insl'nnce 115;: :mefal on woodflllil is p: mm i ly nnpnrt. n. l'llolh'es Wringer (not ehnwn} fllall lnpexnl ing nwnl'nu'iism: there-for. Tin m'lei" tha-Mhe, wginger may hemore'ellieienl'ly opernte l in cumiention with the-Stand of this1mitlnlnr conslructlun, the latter may he provided. with suitablespacing boards 72 whereby the (BlOlI-l'lGS being rubbed will be kept outof engagement with the COIIlJlU'l'lQl' HlJ'llCllllIO at all times.

ln emijuneliiim with the stand (37, I fulflhei: en'ipluy a sulljnlrlesupport-lug linnckct su rh n's (lnsignatwl by the nmneml 73 which beingsuhslnnlxinlly U-Hlmped when viewed in side elevutium may be secured tothe stnml. W? as uh 74. This suppin'l-ing frame is pref m'uhlyeoi'mlz-iwml of: lnelnl, whereby it may l)( :npnl'ile 0fwitlislnnilingz; the pressure sillje ted l1l1 31'WJH'l, nt enrlaintlmes, and. thus insure the olheimit 0 ')e1'n.li(m ol the device, an:all l'in'ies, ll may be in lurn proviilwl with =1 suitable mver member7:") so as l n r.,-mn 'ilvtely n-meet the interim? mechnn hlll thereoffrom moisture, rust, dirt and other foreign malarial. While 1 do notdesire 1.20

limit myself to any specific means for afliX- ing the (fe er member 1nplace, it is pointed (Mil lhn'; sel Sfltfivi; '76 such as shown in Fig23 2112; lw. net-ml in thin ezipncity. 'lherellore, it

as n'lll ex'pmjl'ile oiling '01 the mljnstznent n'l l'lw meehnnism(um-ital ll the li'nme Y3.

I l iillll ills upper eml, filler cove! n'nnnl'mr 7.3 is mighllyvnlmgnil an lnlienlell ltn the mime-ml I?" he saidP-illizligl'il'llfilll being in mm provided with a l-hrnngh npening orflUL "F8 and a series ol 11ml; teeth 79 acljaeni'xi; The nfinresaidslot. The function (if the en lzwggenim'n'" 7-7 nml the various partsthereof will he snln-iecnlenlly panned out. i

l also final il' expedient lz-a provide another alinfl. 80 which hasitupper end journnled im'nugh thin lower wall of the frame 73wh'1le itsnpporl znljarenl; Ill'l; other and through the ll lnin'iei'ilnlil'y ofa beating nieinlw 81L All" irs'lmwir and the sl'iaft 80 i'a z'rien apinion P32 for meshing ei'igagement lh {lw worm gem 551 above. referredto, nhile a beveled gear 83 is keyed to the upper as shown in Fig. l tomesh at nth- 21? hm'nleifl pinions 8 1- 35 l9H}'}'(fl;l\*Ql}-' l'lldl'are enmlml upon a able sleeve 86. The shaft 86 in the ywesenten'xbiirliment, in reduced slightly at poinlfin imlienled hy thenumerals S7 and. 88

l'ms flnhln engngmnent with the resymclive iile lls of lhe fimne. 7;)While One and potlion in squared as at 89 for engagementwith lna wringe!ineehnnisn'l not .shown), In

lax-(lexto px'nphnly Slllfl) the sleeve 86' 530 that Fig; l) and throughthe slot ment with the rack teeth 79"through the instrumentality of apivoted. actuating member 05 whereby the operating lever may be held incertain adjusted positions, as is ob \ious. By properly shifting thesleeve 86, the selected one of the gears 84 and 85 may he brought intoengagement with the gear wheel 83 and thus the directionof rotation ofthe shaft 86 reversed. This renders the mechanismvery applicable toconventional forms of wringing devices, since the direction of therotation of the Wringer rolls may be properly controlled and thedirection of rotation row-arsed when the clogging of the materialthcrehetween occurs.

A. belt 00 from a suitable source of power is arranged to operate inconjunction with the pulleys 48 and 50 respectively whereby the washingmachine or the wringer mechanism may be )lCllHtittKl. Thus in order to't'acilitate the shifting of the belt from one pulley to another Iprovide the supporting siructure of the device with a projectingsupporting arm 97 which is slightly enlarged adjacent one end as at 98and pivctally supports an actuating lever 99 as at 100. The enlargedportion 98*.015 the supporting arm may be provided at a suitable pointwitlna series of notches 101 for co operation with a pawl 102 that in.turncarried by the operating lever through the medium of a slidable rodor other carryin member 103. A pivoted member 104 may be employed toproperly actuate the rod 103 and the lug carried thereby while spacedbearings 105 may also be provided to guide the rod 103 and insure theproper seating of the pawl 102. The supporting structure of the deviceis further provided with a carrying plate 106 through an opening 107 ofwhich is journaled a carrying rod 108. One end of this carrying rod ispivotally connected as at 109 to the operating lever 99, while itcarries a pair of spaced engaging fingers 1.10 ata point intermediateits ends to be associated with the belt 96, in the manner clearly shownin Fig. 2. Set screws as designated by the numeral 111 may also beemployed for the purpose of retaining the lespeotive engaging fingers110 in certain adjusted positions upon the shaft or rod 108 whereby theymaybe advantageouslyemp'loyed inlconnection with belts of varying.ividths. Consequently, it will be seen that by rocking the"lever 99,the rod 108- will be thrust inwardly or outwardly with respect to thesupporting structure, such as the case may be, whereby the belt 96 maybe moved from one pulley to another. hen on the pulley 48 it will serveto operate the con. tlainer 16 in the manner hereinbefore describedwhile when on the pulley 50, the wringer actuating mechanism will beopen ated. However, by properly inanipulating the belt 96 it may be madeto enga c with both of the pulleys at one time so t at the container andthe wringer operating mechanism may be actuated simultaneously. I desireto lay great stress on this particular feature of the device, since itis believed that it adds materially to the utility thereof.

As hereinbebre stated, I also providemeans for retaining the rubbingmember 3% against rotation, with, respect to the container 16 but topermit slight vertical movement thereof to be caused bythe action of thecontents of the container. Therefore, to this end I provide the stand 67with a suit able su 'iporting block 112 to which is movably connectedone end of a carrying arm 113. The other end of the carrying arm isprovided with a squared opening such as- :iner, wherebyit will beefiicient in parts movement to the respective pulley,

such for instance as the pulley 48 thereby causing operation of theshaft 44 and the consequent operation of the beveled gear 53 through thebeveled pinion 54. Such movement of the beveled gear 53 will cause theactuation of the carrying shaft 17 such as before stated, whereby thecontents of the container 16 will be kept in a continued state ofagitation so as to bring the clothes in engagement with the side andbottom walls thereof and theunder corrugated or ribbed face of therubbing member 34. By this arrangemcnt, it is believed that the clothesor other materlal being washed will be thoroughly' cleaned.

On the other hand, when the belt 96 engages with the pulley 50, the Wormgear 51= will be actuated so as to cause rotation of the pinion 82 andthe respectiveshafts 80.

and the consequent rotation of the beveled gearwheel 83. Theoperator nowadjusts the hand lever 92 so as to bring a selected one of the gears84or 85 in engagement with the said rotating gear wheel 83 whereby the\vringer mechanism (not shown) will be actuated and the rolls.thereofrotated in a desired direction. Furthermore, it will beseen thatby properly shifting the belt 96 it may be brought to engage with bothof the pulleys at the same'tnne, thus causing the simultaneous actuationof both the container 16 and the respective wringer actuating mechanism.

From the foregoing it is believed that the advantages and novel'featuresof m invention will be readily understood an therefore, further detaildescription is deemed unnecessary.

In reducing my invention to practice I find that the form referred toherein as the most practical and preferred embodiment is the mosteliicient, but realizing that certain conditions will necessarily varyin concurrence with the adoption of my device, I desire to emphasize thefact that various minor changes in the details of construction and inthe proportion of parts may be resorted to when required withoutsacrificing any of theadvantages of my invention as defined in theappended claim.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is The combination with an oscillatoryelement, of an operating mechanism therefor including a stub shaft, apulley keyed to said shaft, a supporting frame, a Wringer rayryingshaft, a second shaft, a gear Wheel on said second shaft, pinions onsaid wringer carrying shaft, means to shift said pinions info and out ofengagement with said ear wheel whereby said wringer carrying s aft willbe rotated in two directions, means to retain said pinions in adjustedpositions, a pulley loosely mounted on said stub shaft, a belt fordriving both said pulleys, worm gear n'iecl'ianism connected with saidlast n'ientioi'ied pulley, a pinion keyed to Said second shaft andmeshing with said worm gear inechai'iism, a supporting arm, an operatinglever pivotally mounted on said sup porting arm, means to retain saidlever 1n adjusted position, and means carried by said operating lever toshift said belt in a position whereby said pulleys will be operatedsimultaneously.

In testimony whereof I alfix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLARENCE 'A. SOHWANKE. \Vitnesses C. W. WILKINS, G. M. ROBERTSON.

